Article feed mechanism



April 1959 w. E. ME ISSNER I 2,880,905

ARTICLE FEED MECHANISM Original Filed June 21; 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 1" m, 7 I INVENTOR. L WILLIAM E MEISSNER April 7, 1959 w. E. MEIS SNER 2,880,905

ARTICLE FEED MECHANISM Original Filed June v21, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent ARTICLE FEED MECHANISM William E. Meissner, Devon, Pa., assignor to American Viscose Corporation, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Delaware Original application June 21, 1952, Serial No. 294,945,

now Patent No. 2,790,231, dated April 30, 1957. Divided and this application December 14, 1954, Serial No. 475,266

2 Claims. or. 221-176) This invention relates to a device for supplying a band or seal to a strap such as is used for securing packages, for example fiber bales, and for cutting the strap to length simultaneously.

This application is a division of my copending application Serial No. 294,945, filed June 21, 1952, now US. patent 2,790,231, issued April 30, 1957.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a high speed machine for supplying a strapping material to a cutting device by which it is rapidly cut to any predetermined length automatically. A further object is to provide a device of this character which is also adapted to apply a band or seal to each individual bale strap thus produced and also to provide such a band or seal to an offset or crimped portion of the strap. A further object is to provide a machine for passing the strap through a band or seal and simultaneously crimping an ofiset in the strap adjacent the band or seal and cutting the strap to any predetermined length automatically. A further object of the invention is to provide a machine of this type in which the offsetting or crimping device automatically actuates, upon its return stroke, a seal feeding device for supplying the next seal into proper position for receiving the next length of the strap. A further object is to provide a mechanism of this type in which the seal feeding device automatically serves to eject the previously completed strap assembly. Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the drawing and the description thereof hereinafter.

In the drawingjwhich is illustrative of the invention,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of one embodiment of the invention,

Figure 2 is a section taken on line IIII of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a section taken on line III--III of Figure 2,

Figure 4 is a section through the guideway on line IV-IV of Figure l,

Figure 5 is a section on line V-V of Figure 1,

Figure 6 is a section on line VIVI of Figure 2, and

Figure 7 is a perspective view of a modified seal guide. As shown in the drawing, the mechanism is supported on a framework comprising a top platform 3 and vertical supports 4 and 5 at each end thereof. Brackets 6 are mounted on the support 4 and serve to support a coil 7 of strapping material which is preferably of continuous length. A gravityor spring-biased tension device is shown at 8 which comprises a roll 9 carried between a pair of links 10 which are pivotally mounted upon the frame such as by a bracket or brackets 11.

The platform 3 supports an elevated base or table 12 which is provided with a recess or depression 13 in which the feeding mechanism 14 is mounted. A guiding plate 15 having a curved end at 16 is clamped to the top of the table 12 by suitable means, such as by the spaced plates 17 which are slotted as at 18 so as to permit their being moved toward and away from each other and then being clamped in a fixed position by the screws 19. The plates 17 may be adjusted to be slightly more widely "ice spaced apart than the width of the strap to be operated upon.

The feeding means 14 comprises two rolls 20 supported between two bearing stands 21. The lower roll 20 is mounted on a shaft 22 fixedly located in the two bearing stands 21, and it is driven by means of a pulley 23 connected by the belt 24 to a pulley 25 on a shaft 26 which in turn supports a pulley 27 which is driven by a belt 28 and a pulley 29 on a shaft 30 of the motor 31. The shaft 32 of the upper roll is mounted in bearing blocks 33 which are slidable within the vertical slots 34 in the end bearing members 21. Springs 35 urge the blocks 33 downwardly so as to press the upper roll 20 against the lower one. The tension of the springs may be adjusted in conventional fashion by means .of the screws 36.

Means is provided for lifting the upper roll 20 out of contact with the lower roll (Figure 6), and this means comprises the yoke lever comprising legs 37 which extend under the ends of the shaft 32 between the end faces of the roll and the adjacent faces of the bearing supports 21. This yoke lever comprises an upstanding plate 38 secured to the cross piece 39 of the yoke lever. The yoke lever is pivotally mounted on the shaft 40 which extends through the lugs or cars 41 fixed on or integral with the bearing supports 21. It is apparent that upon swinging the plate 38 with the yoke lever about the axis 40, the upper roll 20 will be removed out of contact with the lower roll and out of contact with any strap fed between the nip of the rolls. The arrangement for swinging the plate 38 and yoke lever will be described hereinbelow.

The device 14 feeds the strap to the right as viewed in Figures 1 and 2 in a narrow horizontal passage between an adjustable plate 42 and another adjustable plate 43 as shown in section in Figure 4 which together serve as an adjustable guide for the strapping as it is being pushed into the press, aligning it with the seals and we ting dies. The opposed edges of the guides 42 and 43 are stepped as shown to provide the passage so that an overhanging portion of 42 will prevent the strap confined thereunder from bowing upwardly.

A notch 44 is cut in the overhanging portion of the plate 42 to expose a short length of strap running therethrough. This affords means for a measuring or timing device to engage the strap or strip of material being fed through the device. For this purpose, a wheel or roll 45 rigidly secured on shaft 46 and provided with a periphery of material, such as rubber, which frictionally engages the strap so that it is moved by the strap without slipping therebetween, operates within the notch 44. A roller bearing 47 may be secured on the shaft 46 and a leaf spring 48 having a curved or arcuate end 49 pressing against the outer race of the bearing is secured to the table 12 as by screws 50. The shaft 46 is connected to the shaft 51 of suitable timing or measuring means 52 by means of a universal joint or coupling 53. The timing device 52, which may (as shown) take the form of a revolution counter, may be of any suitable form conventionally available on the market and may comprise a switch 54 adapted to be closed whenever a predetermined length of strap is fed under the wheel 45. This timing means, of course, closes the switch 54 every time any predetermined length of the strap is fed past the wheel 45. The switch 54 in turn actuates the driving means for cutting or for both cutting and crimping the strap as will be explained hereinafter.

The strap is fed directly from between the guide plates 42 and 43 into position for cutting or for cutting and crimping. The means provided for this purpose com prises two upright supporting members'55 and 56 secured .vscribed hereinafter. -.there.is provided a transverse guidingblock .66;provided .ure v 5 which comprises the cutting aperturei62 and the crimping depressions-63 and 64 which are spaced apart longitudinally of the direction of travel of the strap. Between the form ng or bendingsurfaces 63 and 64 (Figure 5) there is providedva .notch 65 ,for a purpose de- Spaced above the lower die ,61

with vertical apertures within hich the male cutting die ,67 and the maleideforming die 68 are mounted slidably in a vertical directionf The dies 67 and 68 are linked to alever 69 bymeans ,oflinks 70 and 71 respectively. The lever is fulcrumed at 72 between upstanding, lugs 730p upright member 56. The shape of .the cutting ,die aperture .62 and notch 65 is shown in Figured, though any shape desired may be used, and beneaththe opening in the female die .62, suitable openings areprovidedin the-die 61 and the member .58 to allow cut-outs to fall through into the space 74 between the base 57 and the member58.

'As shown, additional cutting means maybe provided for'heavystrap material which does not require crimping or offsetting whethera seal is placed about thestrap ,or not. This cutter ismounted atthe leftof the upright ,membfir 5,6,.as viewed in Figures 1 and 2, and comprises the slide block 75 which may he provided with suitable tongue and groove contour in complementaryrelation tt the adjacent guide members76an 77. .A knif 78 is secured to the face of the slide block 75 adjacent the surface of upright member 56. The knife cooperates with a shearmernber 79 mounted in a suitable recess in the upright member56 just below the notch 59 anda shear member 80 mounted in an upright support 81 which is spaced from the upright 56. Cut portions of the strapare forced downwardlybetween 79 and 80 and then into the space 82 from which they can readily be removed. Links 83 are pivotally connected to the slide block 75 at 84, and they may be secured to the lever 69 by means of a pin or shaft adapted .to extend through the openings 85 in links 83 and the opening 86 in the lever 69. 'When the cutter 78 is used, however, links 70 and .71 to the cutting die67 and the crimping die 68 are disconnected from the lever 69. As shown, thelever 6. isc n ected lathe cutting die 67 and t e f rming die'68.

Th cu t n i te 18 .o the cutt ng and deforming byfiuid pr u v. l can c mprisp sten of which 7 is connec ed y h l r st n b 8 8 toiaisha'tt 9 ch i pivotal y-concylinder 87 which is pivotally'mounted at 99 on a bracket 100 secured to the upright 5. The conduit means connecting ports 95 and 961 to the cylinder ports 97 and 98 respectively,-may comprise a reversing'valve 101 which maybe 'shifted'through-a quarter revolution to reverse the interconnected bottom ports 95 and'96 with ports 97 and 98. The handle 102'facilitates this rotation of the valve into reverse position. The branch 92 is'connected toapvalveil03 whichis adapted to be rotated through a quarter, of, a revolution backand forth 1 between theposi- IiOIkfihOWll sand ithe position itv would occupy: after I a. ro-

tation of one quarterof arevolutioninta counterclockwise direction. In the position shown, the chamber 104 in the end of the spool valve 94 is connected by the conduit 105 through the passage 106 in the valve 103 to the atmosphere by means ofan-exhaust port or conduit 107. A shaft 108 is connected by alever 109 to the barrel of valve 103 so as to rotate the valve through a quarter revolution whena solenoid ,1101.-is.,ener-gized. Suchrotation brings the passage '106-in, aposition to connect conduit 92 with conduit 105, thereby introducingfluid pressure into the chamber 104 and shifting the spool valve 94 to the left against thenormal tendencyof spring 111:urgin g the valve to the position shown. The solenoid is energized when the switch'54 is closed by the timing device 52.

A switch 112 .is mountedadjacenttheplatform 3 in the path of a lug 113 mounted on the shaft 89. When the piston in cylinder 87 ,actuates the -.;cutting and ;for rning system,.,by its downward movemen t,;;the,lug 113 adjacent the end of the stroke actuates switch 112 .for'the purpose of de-energizing the solenoid 110 to-allowuthe, spool valve .94..to return to thepositionshown lmderxtheinfluence of .the springlll.

Means is provided for lifting thetop roll'20 when the cutting or the cutting and deforming dies is or are actuated. This means comprises a link 114-pivotally con- ..nected to a bracket 115 secured to the lever 69 and to a lever 116 which. is pivotally mounted on .axis 117 extending between upright plates 118 .secured to the bearing supports21. The link,114 may comprise a clevis 119 in which it is adapted to be threaded and adjustably held ,by the lock-nuts 120. The -lever,116 is provided with a plurality ofperforations 121 spaced equidistantly from the pivot 117 and vthe plate 38;is;.provided with a notch 122. A rod 123 adjustably secured in a yoke 124by means of lock-nuts125 is pivotally mounted in the upper .ure 1, the link 114 will rotate the lever 116 in a clockwise direction which in turn through'the rod 123 will swing the plate 38.and its connected yoke lever in a clockwise direction about the-shaft 40, 'thereby lifting upper roll 20 out of contact with the strap. This motion need be very small in order to render the feeding system inoperative while the cutting action and cutting and forming actions are carried out.

Means is provided for feeding a seal into position just above the depression 65 whereithe sealis heldwith its opening orpassage in alignment with the path of the strap so that the latter will proceed :directly'through the seal. This means comprises agencrally', horizontal h te 13 This:chute.is pivotally mounted. at the back at .13 (F gure. 3 )v and has .an :opening .132 in :registry with, bottomopentendv .of a .vertica1:;magazine;133. The

open at .133a:t0,facilitate the5insertion:ofther-fingersto adjust or insert the seals 134 which, .as shown in Figure 1, are, stacked with their closed, sides parallel'to the direction of travel of the strap. The chute -extends through an opening 135 through the'back of the die assembly. At its front end, its sides are cut away back to the point 136, and .the outermostend of either the bottom or top is curved toward the other wall of the chute. As shown, the end of the bottom-wall at 137 is upturned toward the top .wall. ,Theupturnedvor-bent end serves to limit the forward motionof .theseal 134 while allowing the seal, when suitable force is urged ,upon it, to flexeither the upper orflower wall of the the main body of the chute. A pair of prongs 1370 are formed on each side of the end portions 137a and 137k and the outer end of each prong is oflset from the plane of the wall from which it is formed toward the other prong of the pair. This allows a free passageway for the strap between the prongs of each pair but holds the seal 134 in position so that sliding of the strap through the seal cannot move the seal along with the strap.

A spring 138 normally holds the chute in the upper position as shown in Figure 3.

The following linkage is provided for ejecting a strap provided with a seal and for replacing the ejected seal with the next one to receive a strap. This means comprises a plunger or pusher 139 which fits slidably within the chute 130 adjacent the bottom of the magazine 133. A pin 140 extends downwardly through a slot 141 in the bottom of the chute 130 and is connected by a link 142 to a lever 143 which is pivotally connected at 144 to the frame and connected by a link 145 to a bell crank 146. The crank 146 is pivoted on the frame at 147 and is connected by a link 148 to a lug 149 secured to the bottom of the chute 130.

In the position shown in Figure 3, the seal feeding mechanism is in its normal position after having fed a seal 134 into position for receiving the strap. It will be observed that when the deforming die 68 is moved downwardly by the lever 69, the bottom surface of the die 68 presses against the top surface of the outer end of the chute 130, swinging the chute 130 downwardly about its pivot 131 and thereby, through the links 142, 145, and 148 and the levers 146 and 143, sliding the plunger 139 back of the magazine 133. This allows the next seal to drop into the chute. When, after completion of the downward stroke of the die or dies, they begin to move upwardly, the spring 138 lifts chute 130 as rapidly as the upward motion of die 68 will permit and, through the levers 146 and 143 and associated linkage, forces the plunger 139 forward into the position shown in Figure 3. This forward motion of the plunger 139 urges all of the seals in the chute 130 forward and forces the outermost seal 134 through which the strap had been fed, out of the chute by springing the portions of the bottom and/or top wall or walls of the chute between points 136 and 137. This forcibly ejects the seal containing the strap and places the next seal in readiness to receive the next strap.

The operation of the system has been generally described hereinabove, however, it may be briefly summarized as follows, the motor 31 continuously drives the feed rolls 20 and the strap fed thereby proceeds under the measuring wheel 45 and into the die assembly where it passes through the seal 134 which is disposed in the outermost end of the chute 130 in alignment beneath the cutting and deforming dies 67 and 68 respectively. It will be noted that the link 89 is offset to the back of the path that is taken by the strap fed through the die assembly and the outermost seal in the chute 130 so that the" link 89 does not interfere with the passage of the strap no matter how long it may be. When the measuring device 52 under the control of the measuring wheel 45 closes the switch 54, valve 103 is actuated thereby causing the spool in valve 94 to be moved to the left and causing the entry of the fluid into the top of the cylinder 87, thereby moving the dies 67 and 68 downwardly. Downward motion of the lever 69 causes lifting of the upper roll 20 through the linkage connected with link 114 and the yoke lever 39 mounted on shaft 40. This assures that the strap is not in motion when the dies operate upon it. Upon completion of the downward stroke of the dies, lug 113 actuates switch 112, de-energ izing solenoid 110 and allowing the spool in valve 94 to return to the position shown which results in the supply of fluid to the bottom of the cylinder 87, returning the dies to their upper position in readiness for the next stroke. During this return stroke, the upward motion of the chute causes the ejection of the seal with the strap therein and the replacement with the next seal through which the next length of strap is to be fed. Also, when the dies return to their upper position, the upper feed roll 20 is again lowered so that feeding resumes and the cycle is repeated over and over.

When the system is intended to cut heavy strapping by means of the knife 78, the lever 69 is connected to the links 83 and disconnected from the links 70 and 71. Also, the switch 112 is moved to a position at 1120 shown in dotted lines above the base 57, and the valve 101 is swung through a quarter revolution clockwise as viewed in Figure l to reverse the relationships between ports 95, 96 and 97, 98 respectively. In addition, the yoke 124 is shifted to the opening 121 beneath the pivotal shaft 117 for the lever 116. This reverses the relationships between the parts so that the lever 69 is normally in a position such that it extends downwardly to the right from its fulcrum 72 rather than upwardly as shown' in Figure 1, the upper end of cylinder 87 being filled with the fluid. When lever 69 is swung upwardly in a counterclockwise direction by the energization of solenoid valve 103, the system comprising link 114 swings the yoke lever and plate 38 in a clockwise direction about pivot 40 to lift the roll 20. At the same time, the knife 78 is forced downwardly to cut the strap while it is still. When the lug 113 strikes the switch 112a, valve 103 is reversed to restore valve 94 to the position shown, thereby causing the lowering of the piston in cylinder 87, lifting of the knife 78 and restoration of roll 20 into frictional engagement with the strap. This causes feeding of the strap again and operation of the measuringdevice 52 by means of the wheel 45 until the switch 54 is again closed, thereby repeating the cycle. When using the knife 78, the chute 130 may be removed from the system since it is generally not necessary to provide heavy straps with seals. Alternatively, by simply disconnecting spring 138, the slide normally takes its lower position. In such lower position, it is completely out of the way for straight heavy cut-off work.

The magazine 133 and chute 130 obviously may be replaced with others of larger or smaller size to accommodate whatever particular size or seal or band it is desired to use. If desired, the platform 57 may be extended to theright as viewed in Figure l for the purpose of supporting the end of the strap when extremely long straps are cut.

position of cutting to the right as viewed in Figure 2 so that straps may be ejected directly into the container.

It is to be understood that changes and variations may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A mechanism for feeding a series of articles in succession to a predetermined position comprising achute extending in a generally horizontal direction to aterminus at said predetermined position, said chute being pivotally mounted about an axis transverse of the direction of feed in said chute and spaced from the terminus, said chute being open at the sides at the terminus and having at least one of its top and bottom walls formed' connecting the chute to said plunger for reciprocating A container for receiving the cut straps as they are ejected may also be placed at the front ofthe machine in a position so that it extends beyond the 

